Critical Care Guidelines - Part 1

Part 1 of the Society of Critical Care Medicine Guidelines for Bedside Ultrasonography were published by Frankel et al. in November of 2015. These guidelines include recommendations on several non-cardiac applications of bedside ultrasonography in critically ill patients. In particular, there were strong recommendations for the use of ultrasound in procedures such as thoracentesis, paracentesis and central line insertion.

The written guidelines can be found here. There is also an iCritical Care Podcast by Dr. Ludwig Lin and Dr. Michael Blavais that comments on these guidelines, discusses the integration of technology into ultrasound application and practice, and provides suggestions for ultrasound training of learners and practicing physicians.

Part 2 of these guidelines, which includes the cardiac applications of bedside ultrasonography, have recently been published, and I will post the link once they are up on the Society of Critical Care Medicine's website.